A New American Dream

Three times each year men and women from all over the world take part in a 12-week fat loss transformation program as part of my online fitness business. These everyday people take their dreaded before photos, renew their commitment to diet and exercise, and less than ninety days later they take amazing after photos. Just a few short months literally changes their lives.

We’ve had winners from Norway, Australia, Mexico, Spain, Canada, and all over America. In some cases, like Catherine Gordon, the winner of our 2nd ever contest, it wasn’t just about losing weight. For her, it was more about regaining her energy, youthfulness, and confidence. Since winning that contest she’s returned to starring in plays in her local community theater. For many participants, their transformation reignites passions long forgotten. It’s a reawakening for many to see that they control what they are capable of doing with their remaining years.

Bodies are changed, health is improved, confidence is built, friendships are gained, and new lives are born. All of these powerful benefits come from making a few lifestyle changes and committing just 0.3% of their life to healthy living.

I call it, “The 0.3% solution”. Divide 12 weeks into a 75-year life span and that’s what you get. A third of a percent. That’s all that it requires for these men and women to turn their lives around – physically and mentally.

Could you dedicate less than half a percent of your life to making life-changing improvements in your behaviors and situation?

In my experience, I’ve found that people can change their financial situation in even less time. Dedicating just an hour a day for thirty days can help you build a strong foundation for a web-based international business. You can get your website working online, make your first sale, and build unstoppable momentum – all in just one month – and that’s less than 0.01% of your life.

I know it’s possible because I’ve done it myself (back in 2003), and I’ve coached dozens of entrepreneurs in my Mastermind groups to do it, as well as hundreds more through my online courses, newsletters, and emails.

Even if you were only able to dedicate two hours per week, it would take just three to six months to change your financial fortunes. Are you willing to give less than half a percent of your life to finally making the changes that will give you control of your financial future?

We don’t have to go to the grave thinking, “What if”. “What if I had turned the TV off for an hour each night and dedicated that time to building a new skill?”

Perhaps you could become a copywriter, earning a six-figure income from home or anywhere you and your laptop wanted to travel. Or maybe you could harness the power of your passion and turn it into an online business. There’s no shortage of success stories about men and women all over the world being able to create and sell products based on their expertise. From selling courses on knitting to selling jigsaw puzzles, I’ve heard it all.

These success stories aren’t just from young college aged kids. It’s men and women in their forties, fifties, and sixties who are out there learning new skills and creating new opportunities. They did so because they knew their time was running out.

As Dave Kekich says in one of my favorite Kekich Credos, “No one gets old by surprise.”

Getting old does not come as a surprise to anyone. Neither you nor I are getting any younger and the reality is the government is not making the economy any better. We cannot rely on anyone else but ourselves to take care of our financial future.

The American Dream is not dead to those who chase it hard and fast right now. Small, consistent daily efforts will allow you to be an expert forever. This isn’t rocket surgery. You don’t need to be a genius to take control of your financial independence.

Most of the folks I know who have built online businesses are just good, honest, relatively average, everyday people. In fact, most average people I know have MORE online success than some of the “Smartypants” geniuses I know.

Why?

The average folks take action and implement. On the other hand, the geniuses overthink everything and never get around to implementation. The geniuses end up too busy collecting knowledge to actually use it. They don’t realize that just a little education goes a long way when combined with a lot of action taking.

Recently, in one of Dan Kennedy’s newsletters, he was asked for the ONE secret to success, and here was his response:

“I get asked this question a lot…and my answer disappoints most people…I do not like answering the question because any answer is a lie by omission. But, if I must, the answer is NOT the collection of more and more information (although that’s useful and a behavior held in common by exceptionally successful entrepreneurs) – the answer is: Implementation.

“But even this is complex. Action and implementation are not synonymous, anymore than activity and accomplishment are…everyone is active…To implement means: to put a decision, plan, strategy, etc. into effect. That means there is action tied to strategic purpose, and there is something DONE…Put into effect.

“Implementation is the conversion of inspiration, idea, and already known plus gathered information into accomplishment.”

The secret to those success stories described above is the implementation of information. Only through implementation can you have accomplishment.

As time ticks, and boy is it ticking, we must do everything we can to speed our rate of implementation. Begin today by blocking out time to work on learning a new skill or building your online international business. Get one thing done immediately during your magic time and before you start checking email. Small habits like these will allow you to consistently move forward to achieving your American Dream and creating your financial independence – on your own terms.

These American Dream habits are strikingly similar to the habits of my Transformation Contest winners. They block time to exercise. They get it done in their magic time. They consistently move forward every day toward their fat loss goals.

Not surprisingly, a politically incorrect truth holds true for them as well. In the fitness industry, it’s not the geniuses with the best bodies, but the average folks who commit to ruthlessly follow through on a proven plan. The geniuses, well, they fail because they always think they are too smart for the program and they think they can improve it. If they would only follow instructions, they’d get better results. The average folks are smart enough to know one thing – the plan from my coach works and I should follow this plan step-by-step.

You just need one program. One mentor. One path to success. Make the decision. Choose the program. Ignore all others for now. Then take action. Massive action and implementation.

And do it today while you’re still young.

“The life we receive is not short, but we make it so [because we] are wasteful of it.” – Seneca

Craig Ballantyne is the author of The Perfect Day Formula: How to Own the Day and Control Your Life. Craig has been a contributor to Men's Health magazine for over 17 years. Today he teaches his gift high-performing entrepreneurs how to squeeze more out of their days, increase their income, and make more quality time for their families in his Perfect Life Workshop and Work-Life Mastery programs. Craig used his own advice to overcome crippling anxiety attacks in 2006, and he'll teach you his 5 Pillars of Success so you can increase your income, decrease your work time, and live the life of your dreams. Learn more about Craig at craigballantyne.com

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